June Snyder: USC Verdugo Hills Hospital’s Brightest Smile

June Snyder: USC Verdugo Hills Hospital’s Brightest Smile

A native of the Verdugo Hills community, she has lived in the same house for 57 years. When June retired, she and a friend decided that volunteering would be a good idea. For the last 20 years, she’s become even more enmeshed in the community than ever before by dedicating her gratitude to USC Verdugo Hills Hospital as a volunteer.

Before joining the USC Verdugo Hills Hospital volunteer team, June Snyder lived quite an adventurous life. She started her career as a stewardess for United Airlines, then became a Marine in the United States military and eventually worked for a doctor for 25 years. This life of caring about her fellow citizens was a natural prelude to arriving at the USC Verdugo Hills Hospital doorstep to volunteer.

The proud owner of a bright, joyful smile, June is the first person that patients and visitors see when they walk into the doors of the hospital.

“Volunteering at the local community hospital, I oftentimes see people at their most vulnerable moment,” June said. “And being the first person they see, you kind of have to wear a genuine smile and help lift the moods of the people who have to come here.”

“I wasn’t working anymore, so I thought that volunteering would be a nice thing to do,” June said. “The first thing I did was serve coffee from the cart in the lobby.”

This act of kindness has led to 20 more years of service, and she’s seen a lot of things change in the community, the medical field and the hospital itself in the process. The biggest change that June has seen in her tenure is when the hospital joined Keck Medicine of USC.

“Everything got better. We have new people and great care. Leadership is wonderful, especially Keith Hobbs, our CEO. He’s the kind of man who comes in to shake hands with all of us, and no one else who has led the hospital ever did that before,” June said.

June has high hopes for where she sees the hospital going. She definitely feels that the community vibe is becoming stronger each year.

By Leonard Kim

Established in 1972, the volunteer services department at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital attracts, retains and recognizes qualified in-service volunteers. June is one of more than 200 dedicated volunteers, ranging in ages from 16 to 95, who provide their time and talent as volunteers in many areas in the hospital.